WSM: rebranded and relooked!

On October 16th, World Solidarity (or in Belgium known as Wereldsolidariteit in Dutch or Solidarité Mondiale in French) celebrated its 45th birthday and took advantage of this event to launch its new visual identity.

The purpose of this change is mainly to reinforce our image, according to our identity and its evolution over time:

-        We are one of the few national NGOs in Belgium.

-        As actor and facilitator of a thematic network on the right to social protection, we connect our partners in a network, within their own countries, in the continents (ANRSP) and at international level.

-        We remain, more than ever, committed to promoting the right to decent work and social protection.

-          We are not doing this on our own, but with numerous social movements and trade unions.

We now communicate with a single name, a new logo and totally revamped communication channels. To remain updated, please subscribe to them:

-          Our website www.wsm.be, unique and in four languages, referring, among others, to our continental networks’ pages (for Asia: ANRSP).

-          We are on Facebook and Youtube as wsm Belgique and wsm België

-          On Instagram, we are wsm_ongo

-          On Twitter, we use wsm_belgium

Nepal Express: experienced through the eyes of 16 Flemish

“I’m Phudoma (35) and I’ve been working as a trekking guide since I was 27. Coming to Kathmandu, I really didn’t know where to start. I first worked in hotels, making very little money. Then I went abroad for two years to work as a housekeeper. When I came back, I got an arranged marriage. My husband is also a trekking guide. Initially, I accompanied him on treks as assistant guide, making 5 EUR per day. After three years of marriage, I got a daughter. I didn’t get any maternity leave, because trekking is a seasonal activity. As a woman, I don’t get a lot of offers, maybe once or twice a season, making 1.700 NPR (17 EUR) per day. The months I do not work as guide, I often go back home to help my parents farming. Trekking is dangerous business and not a season goes by without some of us getting injured or dying. I was lucky enough never to have had any accident. Seven years ago I joined the trade union UNITRAV, affiliated to GEFONT, to improve my salary. Later I was elected as secretary of UNITRAV. They asked me to try to organize more female members, by training them as guides. We also try to organize the ladies working in the tea houses along trekking routes, as they can be potential guides or porters”.

This testimony was collected during the Nepal Express, a group trip organized by WSM in Nepal with 16 Flemish people from 21 Sept till 6 Oct. 2019. The trip, unlike many other immersion trips, focused on empathy, experience and challenges. Before even their arrival, each participant collected 2.000EUR to support WSM's Nepali partners. One of the portraits used by them to explain the realities in Nepal to their friends and family was of Doma Sherpa, a guide with UNITRAV, affiliated to GEFONT.

Having talked so often about her, the group was thrilled to have Doma be one of the guides while trekking. She explained that the bargaining power of guides used to be very little. Guides and porters would accept any offer. Since they became organized, they have made demands from the Travel Tours Association from Nepal (TAAN), which led to improvements in terms of salaries, insurance, shelter etc. In 2011, the salary for an assistant guide was 500 NPR (3,78 EUR). Since 2017, through negotiations, they obtained a minimum wage of 1.700 NPR (12,87 EUR) for guides and porters. Also the insurance for guides and partners had to be negotiated. Now, besides hospitality expenses, they have obtained fixed amounts per injury or death, which should apply automatically.

Afterwards one of the participants of the Nepal Express wrote this: “With mixed feelings, we return home. Happy for so many unforgettable experiences, but also a bit melancholic to leave this wonderful country and its incredibly friendly people. One thing is certain: each of us has a piece of Nepal in us for the rest of our lives.” See their pictures and updates form the trip on their Facebook page.

Inequality in South Asia - SAAPE

South Asian countries have failed to make the use of economic growth in the region to improve the lives of the poor and marginalized people of the community, mostly women, girls and marginalised communities and reduce inequalities the region is facing. Extreme inequalities are destroying the region putting a threat to democracy, culture and security, and most seriously posing a threat to women’s human rights, says the report “Growing Inequality in South Asia” launched by South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) today on its official website.

The report reveals the seriousness of growing inequality in the region as a result of government policies and programmes that benefit a handful of the rich and leave behind a large number of people who are denied access to basic human rights and needs. It analyses the causes and drivers of inequality and demonstrates concrete evidence of widening inequalities in the region.

In South Asia:

• share of the global poor increased from 27.3 per cent to 33.4 per cent in between 1990 and 2013, leaving behind only Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for the largest (50.7 per cent) share of the global poor.
• governments are competing with each other on tax exemptions to the rich and powerful. The two countries in the region, India and Pakistan, feature in the list of top 10 countries losing the most tax revenue. While India loses around USD 41.2 billion in taxes annually, Pakistan tops the list forgoing around USD 10.4 billion, equivalent to 3.5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
• the health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is low (3.5 per cent) while a global average stands at 10.02 per cent. The quality of primary care is often poor. Total government expenditure on healthcare in 2015 was in the range of 0.4-2 per cent of the gross domestic product, which was among the lowest ones globally.
• private health expenditure (PHE) accounts for about two thirds of the total health expenditure (THE), similar to the trends in low and low middle-income countries but much higher than the global average (42.4 per cent).
• over 134 million people still do not have access to improved drinking water. It is currently estimated that people in the region drink from 68 to 84 per cent of contaminated sources of water. Likewise, 600 million people still practise open defecation (over 60 per cent of the global burden).
• the gender pay gap is 35 per cent for women with children compared to 14 per cent for those without.
• women perform 80 per cent of the total hours of unpaid care work, on average 4.1 times more than men, across Asia and the Pacific.
• working poverty remains high and this high incidence of informality continues to undermine the prospects of further reducing working poverty. Out of the total workforce, 90 per cent are in the informal sector.
• in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, men perform the lowest share of unpaid care work (1 hour and 4 minutes). The regional average for women is 4 hours and 22 minutes.
• Gini coefficient approaching 40.0 of all South Asian countries indicates that inequality is alarming.
• informalisation of labour is the highest in the region. It is 90.7 per cent in India and Nepal, 48.9 per cent in Bangladesh, 60.6 per cent in Sri Lanka and 77.6 per cent in Pakistan.
• the basic literacy rate of the population aged 15 years and above lags behind all other regions except Sub-Saharan Africa, in spite of the literacy rate rising from 60.84 per cent in 2004 to 71 per cent in 2016.

A day in the life of two GK paramedics caring for the elderly in Bangladesh

Follow a day in the lives of two paramedics from Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) in Bangladesh. 


From the early morning on the GK campus in Savar, their day starts with the community work done in the fields by all GK staff.  Then they get dressed for work and their visits, have breakfast and set out on their iconic bicycles, after receiving their assignments.
Most elderly people are not economically solvent and depend on their family or relatives. Many elderly also have various kind of illnesses and aches. GK provides primary care services for the elderly at their doorstep, services such as: checking blood pressure, personal hygiene, nail cutting, etc.  Those cases needing more attention are brought to the GK hospitals, for services like physiotherapy, or prescribing affordable medication if necessary.
All this is done for GK with a rights based approach, since elderly have equal right for health care services.